Another Kind of Training
by Dawn of Chaos
Summary: "Hey Ven, are you alright?" Another sneeze followed by sniffles leads him to sighing. "Silly kid," Terra says as he claps his hand softly onto Ven's head, mussing at the spikes. "And you didn't tell me why?" The frustrated look on his friend's face causes him to hold back a laugh. He turns away with his hands crossed over his chest. "Well don't worry I'll take care of you!"


The training area is vacant save for one young man. He idles next to the entrance, waiting for his younger friend. The young man is tall with brown hair that stretches down the base of his neck and is styled into messy, vertical spikes and bangs that frame his face. Against his slightly tanned skin are bright blue eyes fierce with determination and raw power. Unlike most days, he's dressed a little more casually. No armor decorates his body, just his usual outfit. He wears two red intersecting straps over a skintight, high-collared black shirt. He wears a belt tied to his baggy, pleated tan pants.

He taps his foot against the ground impatiently, wondering what could have kept the boy from joining him. With their Master and other friend busy with training as well, he grows even more worried by the second. An aggravated sigh slips from his lips as he marches off to go find the other Keyblade apprentice.

Passing through the halls to get to the wing that houses their rooms, he can pick up on slight noises coming from the room at the end. He knocks softly on the door, waiting for entrance to be granted. Instead all he gets is a sneeze from inside the room. "Hey Ven, are you alright?" Another sneeze followed by sniffles leads him to sighing. "Ven, I'm coming in."

Slowly opening the door he finds his young friend hunched over in bed. His spiky blond hair seems to droop and his usually enthusiastic blue eyes are dull. The color is drained from his face, leaving him sickly looking on top of his nose which he's rubbed so much its bright red. The sheets pool around him as he takes a deep breath, releasing his grip on the blankets. His plain white shirt sticks to his small, but well defined frame – slightly damp from sweat.

"Hey Terra," the blond says with a rather goofy grin on his pale face. "Sorry I'm late for our practice."

Terra, with an eyebrow raised, glances over the boy another time. He walks up to him and places the back of his hand against Ven's forehead. He snaps it away, shaking it slightly. "Geez, you're burning up. Why didn't you call for Aqua, her room is right next door?"

Ven lowers his gaze to his lap, panting softly. "She's training with Master; I didn't want to make her put it on hold."

"Silly kid," Terra says as he claps his head softly onto Ven's head, mussing at the spikes. "And you didn't tell me why?" The frustrated look on his friend's face causes him to hold back a laugh. He turns away with his hands crossed over his chest. "Well don't worry I'll take care of you!"

The blond stares up at him with conflicted emotions, only ever had their motherly friend Aqua treat them when they got sick. Slightly afraid of how it'll go, Ven shoves the blankets aside and slings his legs over the side of his bed. Swaying as he tries to stand on his own two legs, Ven stumbles forward. His head lolls and his vision swims, his world tilting as he finds the ground closing in fast.

Terra swings back around and his strong arms sweep the blond up to him. "Ven, Ven are you okay?" He looks up at Terra with dazed eyes, blinking several times before he nods. Picking him up, Terra carries him back to the bed where he lies him down. He pulls the sheets up to his shoulders and turns to hurry off to gather the things he needs to take care of Ven. "Don't move. I'll be right back." He can only watch as Terra runs off in search of the items. Looking up to the ceiling he can only smile, happy that he has a friend to take care of him.

It's not long before the brunet is walking back into the room. He's brought many things that he sets on the floor by the bed. One of which is metal tub of cold water. The large cloth bag he had carried on his arm is pulled part, allowing him to pull several washcloths out. He sets two next to the tub and sets one in to the water, letting it soak for a moment. In the meantime he pulls out a small ceramic bottle, a special medicine for colds – or so Aqua told him.

Ven stares at Terra as he works, although he can't seem to focus on him as his vision sways constantly. The brunet quickly finishes up as he hands the bottle to Ven. The weak boy grasps at it, holding it loosely as he stares down at it – as if willing for it to move on its own. Terra sees this right off the bat and moves to cover Ven's hand with his own before the bottle spills onto the bed.

Helping him press the edge of the bottle to his lips, Terra pulls it away once he's done. Once it's capped he places it on the floor and stands up to sit on the edge of his bed. Terra urges Ven to lie down, the blond looking up at him wearily as he does. Hoping that he'll feel better soon, Terra reaches down for the cloth soaking in the water. He wrings it out before folding it. Holding it in one hand, he brushes the blond bangs up off of Ven's forehead and lays the cloth over his hot skin.

Ven shivers at cool touch and he tries to burrow tighter into the covers, even though he's still sweating lightly from the fever. Terra looks down at him, the helplessness in his eyes more than tangible. The blond sees it all from his position and it makes him feel terrible. Not only did he ruin their training session but to have his dear friend take care of him instead of working towards the Mark of Mastery exam. His blue eyes remain downcast as he can do nothing but allow Terra to stand, too afraid to say a word.

"I'll bring you some water and soup, stay in bed." He says as he begins to leave.

Watching him leave, Ven lets the frown pull at his lips. He doesn't wish to be a bother to Terra and his mood dampens considerably knowing that he surely is. Ven heaves a sigh and stares up at the ceiling. His breathing comes out heavy even as tears bead at the corners of his eyes; his emotions raging out of control from the mere cold.

But it's not until Terra is rushing back to the room, careful not to spill the soup all over himself that Ven realizes just how helpless he feels. The brunet skids to a halt at the edge of his bed, setting the tray on his bedside table before turning his attention to Ven. Taking the cloth from his head he lets it slip back into the pan of water on the floor. Ven, assuming what happens next, weakly sits up and the instant he does a headache pounds on his cranium. Terra takes note of the pain that flashes over the blond's flushed features as he quickly arranges the pillows so that Ven can lean back on them and still be sitting up enough to eat. Proud of his accomplishments thus far, as he only knows what to do from Aqua or Master taking care of him – he smiles at Ven.

However, it's not reciprocated. The blond's half-lidded eyes look up at him painfully. Terra reaches over to grab at the tray, with the soup and cup of water, while thinking of what else he could do. He sets the tray on Ven's lap and laughs softly, "I know it's not as great as what Aqua makes, but hopefully it'll do the job."

Ven lowers his gaze to the bowl, the yellow liquid shimmering up at him. "Thanks," is all he manages to get out. Immediately concentrating on eating, he barely notices the weight on the bed shift as Terra begins to stands. Just as the brunet does so, the spoon clatters back into the pool and spraying some of the soup onto the tray. Clearly frustrated, Ven sits there for a moment – fuming at his weakness. He wishes he could be as strong as Terra; surely even he could feed himself when he was sick!

Terra, whether he knew what Ven was thinking or not, gingerly sits back down and picks up the spoon. He pulls it out slowly and drags the bottom over the edge of the bowl, trying to get rid of any excess liquid that would drip onto the poor boy. Bringing it up, he holds it in front of Ven's lips to the point where the blond parts them just so it's not hovering in front of him anymore. As Terra pulls the spoon back he positively beaming. It's only when he dips the spoon back in and readies another spoonful that he sees Ven's questioning gaze and slightly raised eyebrow.

He laughs wholeheartedly, "It's nothing. I just always wondered what went through Aqua or Master's mind when they took care of me."

A little breathlessly, but a little rejuvenated thanks to the warm soup, Ven's eyes widen as he speaks softly. "You were sick?"

"Of course, everything gets a cold at least once." The brunet laughs at the memory. "I got so bad the last time that I could barely do anything to the point where even Master helped out more."

Having a hard time grasping the situation, Ven barely notices Terra handing him the spoon – one large tan hand over his small pale one. A little shaky, but still steady, Ven manages to finish the soup by himself as Terra makes another trip back to the kitchen; saying something about checking in on Aqua's training on his way back. It's as that point that Ven seems to gain a second wind, or so he thinks he does, and he sets the tray over onto his table. With that out of the way he pushes his covers back and slowly lets his legs dangle over the side of the bed.

His bare feet touch the floor and he smiles to himself, believing that he can do it. Although as he stands and takes a step away from the bed he can feel his knees beginning to wobble. After another couple steps he swallows hard as he realizes that he should just back up and sit back down. But it's too late as his weary limbs seem to give out all at once – he can barely cry out, the sound coming out as a hushed squeak.

Nonetheless he doesn't hit the floor as Terra had been rounding into the room just at that moment. The brunet cradles the boy to him, helping him walk back to the bed. Despite the soft laughter he gives to ease the situation, Ven can hear the worry in his voice. "Wanted to test me huh? See if I was as quick as you?"

Ven begins to shake his head and stops, a headache racing up to the forefront of his mind. "N- No, I thought I could do it."

Terra sighs as he helps the blond back into bed, making sure he's lying flat and ready for, hopefully, some sleep to ward off the fever. "That's what I'm here for," he says as he bends down to the floor. "Friends take care of each other, so just relax and focus on getting better."

Looking over at Terra as he wrings out the cloth he had just dunked in the water, Ven finally shows a small smile. He stands back up and places it over Ven's forehead, the blond giving him an expecting look. "You'll stay with me then?"

"Until you're all better."

Terra sits down on the floor with his legs folded beneath him as he begins to speak to the boy, rattling off stories of when he first began training. The blond soaks up the information like a sponge; from training tips, to guides on how to do certain skills, to just the laughs of what his older friend has gone through. He listens to him talk the whole time with the occasional interruption of needing some water to ease his sore throat.

Nonetheless, Ven finally falls asleep, breathing even and no sign of cold troubling him enough to wake him. The young man smiles at his friend as he crosses his arms over the side of the bed. He takes a deep breath and promises himself a small moment of rest before he goes to his own room. It's when his head begins to dip down towards his arms that his eyes are already closing,

~0~

A young woman dressed down for the night in a sweeping light blue dress walks through the wing. She reaches her room only to pause, glancing further down the hall to see the last door slightly ajar. Curious, as she hasn't seen her friends all day, she quietly makes her way to the open door. As she peaks inside she has to stifle a giggle, only showing a loving smile. Ven lies asleep facing the door, his breathing easy and already showing signs of getting over his cold. That is while Terra sits on the floor with his legs folded partly beneath him, leaning his arms and head on the edge of the bed. Both fast asleep, she slips inside and grabs a spare blanket from the end of Ven's bed, draping it over Terra's shoulders. Carefully getting out, she shuts the door – thinking of how much like brothers they seem.

* * *

o v o Was a prize I donated to Monksea for winning 2nd place in a Kingdom Hearts contest over on deviantart. I must say I don't write very many "bromance" fics. OTL


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